Minister rejects suspension proposal studied by Flávio Bolsonaro and estimates selective tax regulation in 2026
The Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan, stated this Thursday (May 21, 2026) that the tax reform should be treated as a “State pact” and said that the country cannot interrupt the implementation of the measure due to the electoral dispute. The statement was made in an interview with CNNin response to the proposal studied by the pre-campaign (PL-RJ) to suspend the entry into force of the reform for one year if he is elected president.
According to Durigan, the reform represents “a huge gain” for the country and could increase economic growth in the coming years. The minister stated that part of the productivity improvement needed by Brazil would already be achieved by the measure by simplifying a system that currently brings together 27 ICMS legislation and “thousands” of municipal ISS rules. For him, the current complexity increases administrative costs and harms companies that operate nationally.
“The tax reform alone will give a gain of 15 percentage points to Brazil’s GDP over the next 10, 15 years”, he declared.
The minister also stated that the government will continue to implement the reform. He cited the inauguration of the Tax Reform Steering Committee in the National Congress and stated that 2026 is already a year for collecting additional obligations, without penalty, for companies to declare operations of goods and services and for the government to have a preview of the operation of the new system.
SELECTIVE TAX UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR
Durigan stated that the government intends to discuss the regulation of the selective tax with Congress by the end of the year. According to the minister, conversations have already taken place with the presidents of the Chamber, (Republicans – PB), and the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União – AP), to ensure approval of the rules. He said, however, that the government is unable to ensure that the proposal is sent before the elections, because it is still seeking “find the best way” with the ministries and Congress.
The topic is still under discussion within the government. According to Durigan, the Ministry of Finance has already started conversations with other departments to calibrate the rates.
The selective tax is one of the taxes provided for in the tax reform and will apply to goods and services considered harmful to health or the environment. It will partially replace the function currently performed by the IPI, which will be extinguished with the entry of the new system. Therefore, the government needs to approve the regulation of the new tax in 2026, so that it can come into force from 2027.
